Hero guides:Zephyr Mini Guide by Newti
(patch 1.0.2) Skill Build 1 - Cyclones 2 - Gust 3 - Cyclones 4 - Gust 5 - Cyclones 6 - Typhoon 7 - Cyclones 8 - Gust 9 - Gust 10 - Wind Shield 11 - Typhoon 12 - Wind Shield 13 - Wind Shield 14 - Wind Shield 15 - Stats 16 - Typhoon 17 - Stats+ Justification / Modifications: One level of wind shield can be taken early as it is passive and the first level provides significantly more than the following levels. Get this if you get early marchers and need to chase. Then Max cyclones and Gust first. Generally I max Gust first if I am with a stunner. Cyclones otherwise. Typhoon is now good and taken whenever you can. Starting Items: 1x Healing Potion, 1x Logger's Hatchet, 1x Iron Buckler Core: (Iron Shield >>) Life Tube >> Helm of the Black Legion >> Ghost Marchers >> Mock of Brilliance Zephyr, being a very strong tank, is a good choice for Mock. Unlike other chars you can't rush it naked however. You will need at least Hotbl and some Boots first. Due to your excellent farming abilities you will still have your Mock pretty early tho (Min 25 Ghost Marchers, HotBL and Mock is easy possible). You can get Plated Greaves instead of Ghost Marchers if they feature a lot of physical damage or armor reduction. After Core: Barrier Idol >> Frostburn OR Frostwulf's Skull >> Behemoth's Heart The rest is standard tank/carry build. I prefer Skull over Frostburn but either is fine. Information Roles: Hard-Carry, (Initiator) Properties: Tank, Pusher Preferred Lane: Any (Can solo mid and can also jungel from level 1) Difficulty: 2 - Easy (Requires last hitting skills and Gust is a bit tricky to use but he is very hard to shut down) Farming capabilities: 5 - Excellent (Probably the best amongst melee carries) Item dependency: 5 - Very Heavy Power: - Early Game / Lane Control: 4 - Strong (good lane staying power with cyclones, easy to farm early on, decent jungler from level 1 on) - Mid Game / Ganks: 3 - Medium (Needs farm to become effective) - Late Game / Team Fights: 5 - Very Strong (Carries hard if properly farmed) Notable +/- and synergies: + excellent pusher 30-Seconds-Guide: - When you have cyclones up, you can use pathblocking to prevent an enemy from reaching his tower, doing more damage than just rightclicking. - If you use a homecoming stone you will lose all cyclones, keep that in mind. - Gust has a lot of different uses. Always think about all the possibilities before using it. - When cyclones expire, the oldest will expire first (that's a good thing) - If you are at max cyclones always consume one before you do a last hit. The oldest cyclone will be consumed. Counters: - It is very very hard to deny Zephyr farm (unlike with other carries). One way to limit it, is by warding his jungle and controlling the lanes. - Don't engage him in melee when he has all 8 cyclones up unless you are 5 vs 1. - Get a Barbed Armor and turn it on when standing in his ulti. (If 2 or more people do this he will kill himself with his ult). - Barrier Idol helps to counter his ult. - Also consider Tablet of Command to jump out of Typhoon.